Slideshow: Vitra Design Museum and Campus – Basel, Switzerland

A variety of buildings quietly sit on the Vitra campus outside Basel, each designed by one of the world’s top architects. Ando sits next to Gehry across the street from a new Herzog and de Meuron. Grimshaw, Siza and Gehry added factory buildings, with a fourth under construction designed by Sanaa. The firehouse was Hadid’s first completed building and a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome completes the campus. An impressive collection of architecture compliments the exquisitely designed furniture Vitra is famous for, including designs by Charles and Ray Eames. My visit there was all the more interesting with an exhibit of the work of the Campala Brothers, fantastic designers and artists.

Transforming the Tate

In this video Jacques Herzog describes the concept and design process behind their design for the extension to the Tate Gallery in London. Here is the description according to the Tate Website:

As one half of architecture superstars Herzog and De Meuron, Jacques Herzog has been behind some of the world’s most spectacular buildings – from Beijing’s Olympic Stadium to the original Tate Modern nearly a decade ago. Plans are now afoot for an ambitious new extension to Tate Modern. TateShots was given privileged access to the architects’ studio in Basel, Switzerland, where work is well underway. In our film, Herzog talks about his excitement to be working on the project, and why TM2 (as the new building is currently known) will stand out in London’s busy skyline.

I haven’t been to the Tate in almost 8 years now, but I recall being impressed by Herzog and de Meuron’s tasteful adaptation of the old structure. Adding an extension is a difficult problem, especially trying to blend a bold new design with the historic image of the turbine hall. Their creative use of brick is elegant and admirable although I am not sure if the angular form quite fits into the context. However, I have loved almost every building of theirs that I have visited, so I will withhold final judgment until it is completed and I have seen it in person and in context.

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Upcoming Posts

You may have noticed that Talkitect.com has been pretty quiet over the past few weeks (not including the spike of video posts recently). This is because I was gallivanting around southern Germany and Switzerland visiting amazing works of architecture, exploring stunning landscapes and checking out some fantastic cities. Part of the goal of my travels was to gather more places and topics to write about. Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting four or five new articles, some new videos and even an Interview or two with some inspiring people running architecture themed galleries here in Berlin. There are also a couple of interesting architecture and art events coming up that I plan on covering as well as a short trip to London that might offer some more topics of conversation. All this goes hand in hand with a job search, as I look for a design position at an architecture firm in Berlin.

Upcoming Articles:
- Peter Zumthor’s Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland
- Peter Zumthor’s Kunsthaus in Bregenz Austria
- Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba art museum in Cologne, Germany
- The Vitra Design Museum and Campus (including buildings by Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Nicholas Grimshaw, Álvaro Siza, and Herzog & de Meuron as well as an exhibit on the Campana Brothers)
- The Glenn Murcutt International Masters Class
- Herzog & de Meuron and the architecture of Basel

Check out the most recent slide shows Here:
Architecture Photography

An older post worth reading:
The Sustainability of an Architectural Practice

Don’t forget to check the list of articles and slide shows in the left hand column or the blog’s archive for past posts you may have missed. Also, get involved in the conversation by leaving comments on articles or videos you find interesting (or mundane for that matter – critical comments are welcome too) and by clicking the “follow” or “subscribe” buttons at the top of the left hand column. You can also follow me on twitter by going here: lugray on twitter.Your contributions are greatly appreciated and what makes running a blog like this worthwhile. Thanks for reading and check back soon for new content.